1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable terminal, and more particularly to a swing-type portable terminal having a pair of housings coupled to each other in such a manner that they can be rotated while facing each other.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, portable terminals are used to connect users with service providers or with other users via base stations in a wireless manner for providing communication services. The portable terminals may be classified into bar-type terminals, flip-type terminals, and folder-type terminals according to their appearance.
The bar-type terminals have a single body housing, on which data input/output means and transmitter/receiver units are positioned. However, these terminals have a problem in that their keypad, which is used as the data input means, is always exposed and may be operated erroneously. In addition, there exists a limitation in making the bar-type terminals compactly, because a distance must be maintained between the transmitter and receiver units of the terminals.
The flip-type terminals have a body, a flip, and a hinge module for connecting the body with the flip. The body has data input/output means and transmitter/receiver units positioned thereon. The flip is adapted to cover the keypad, which is used as the data input means, so that any erroneous operation thereof can be avoided. However, there still exists a limitation in making the flip-type terminals compactly, because a distance must be maintained between the transmitter and receiver units of the terminals.
The folder-type terminals have a body, a folder, and a hinge module for connecting the body with the folder in such a manner that the folder can be rotated in a direction approaching or away from the body to open/close the terminal. During a standby mode, the folder is folded onto the body to avoid any erroneous operation of the keypad. During a speech mode, the folder is unfolded to establish a sufficient distance between the transmitter and receiver units. This is beneficial to making the folder-type terminals compactly. For this reason, most recent portable terminals are configured as folder-type terminals.
The hinge module of the flip-type or folder-type terminals, which couples the flip or folder to the body in such a manner that it can be rotated, exerts a force in such a direction that the flip or the folder is automatically opened without any additional application of force from a user, when the flip or folder is rotated a predetermined angle or more from the body, or in such a direction that it is folded onto the body, when it is rotated less than the predetermined angle.
Recently, users' tastes in choosing portable terminals have been diversified and their demands for information have increased dramatically. However, current research and development on portable terminals have not met such recent demands. Although swing-type portable terminals have appeared, which have a pair of housings coupled to each other in such a manner that they can be rotated while facing each other, the construction of a hinge device for connecting the pair of housings to each other, while the terminal performs a swing motion, is still unsatisfactory.